by Jeff Inlo
"That is not necessarily the case," Holli advised. "I believe the plan may still work, but we will now have to rely on Neltus."
The delver could not restrain his surprise.
"Neltus? What can he do? Why did you even bring him back?"
"Sy restored his core. With his..."
"That's right, friends!" Neltus interrupted, but the emphasis he placed on his words made those gathered in the desert extremely uncomfortable. "I'm back to what I was. My core has been returned, and I'm ready to use it."
Jure eyed the crimson casting wizard with obvious mistrust.
"Let's hope you've learned something from your mistakes," the elder wizard counseled.
"Learned? Oh, I've learned a great deal... a great deal indeed. For instance, I know quite a bit more about this algor than the rest of you. Why don't we ask him if his plan will still work?"
Holli found the tone of Neltus' voice alarming. She wondered if Neltus could sense something from the algors in their sandstone sanctuary.
"Will the algors still help us?" she asked of the lone algor by Ryson's side.
The algor did not respond. It simply stared at Neltus with confusion as well as what plainly appeared to be searing contempt.
"Will they?" Holli repeated.
"He can't really answer that question," Neltus advised, "because he was never connected to the algors in the first place. And if he's not connected, how could he possibly know if they'll help us at all?"
"What are you saying?" the elf guard demanded.
"Don't look to me. Ask your friend the delver. In a way, he is connected with the algors. They consider him one of their pack, their brood, their flock, or whatever it is they call themselves."
Ryson wasn't sure how to respond. To a degree, Neltus was correct. In a fashion he did not quite comprehend, the algors viewed the delver as a member of their community. He had fought beside them, mourned with them over their losses, and somehow understood their strange inner conflict between a desire for solitude and a need for fellowship. In return, they embraced him and welcomed him into their fold.
Despite their willingness to accept him, there were limitations. Even while he could feel a sense of belonging with the tailless lizards, he could never quite communicate with them through their communal bond. Algors might have shared knowledge, but they didn't share all they knew with him.
"I have no idea if they're willing to help us," Ryson confessed. "I'm not connected with them in that way."
Neltus kept his attention on Holli.
"What he says is probably true," the crimson wizard allowed, "but that's not the point. I'm more concerned about this so-called algor next to him. I'm wondering if Ryson feels a bond with this particular individual. I also wonder about your instincts, elf guard. What do you think of an algor who just happened to be walking out alone in the desert when we appeared? Rather convenient, wasn't it?"
"You are the one who brought us to this spot," Holli responded, keeping her suspicions centered directly upon the crimson cored wizard as opposed to the algor.
"True, but I had absolutely no idea there would be someone, or something, out here waiting for us. Someone's been watching us... someone knew we would end up near the algor cliffs. He wanted to make sure there was a welcoming committee."
Holli grew frustrated. They were getting no closer to freeing Enin from the grasp of the dathit, and Neltus was speaking in riddles.
"What is it you mean to say? Who has been watching us?"
"If I tell you, you might not believe me. It would also give far too much away. But like I said before, ask the delver. Tell him to use his keen senses. Tell him to look deeper than the algor's outer skin, to smell the air for the whiff of something demonic beyond the dathit. Ask him to listen, really listen. He can hear the heartbeat of an algor... if he focuses. Ask him what he really hears."
Ryson didn't wait for the request. He listened intently to every sound wafting through the desert, picked through them, identified them, and discarded those unrelated to his cause. After but a few moments, he knew Neltus was right. The heart of an algor did not beat in the creature before them.
He sniffed the wind, caught the unpleasant scent of the dathit. The unmistakable aroma of twisted malice overpowered everything, even the surrounding desert and the all encompassing sand, but a delver's nose could distinguish many smells. Ryson pressed through the waves of harsh odors until he found a hidden trace in the layers of overlapping scent trails. He instantly recognized it as demonic in nature, but it did not come from the towering dathit.
Realizing the algor was not what it seemed, Ryson looked closer. Everything about its appearance seemed perfect... too perfect. There were no flaws, no distinctions which would mark the algor as an individual, and in that, Ryson knew the algor was a fraud.
As much as they belonged to a community, each algor strived for a certain level of complete uniqueness. In some very small manner, they all wished to stand alone. But the creature in the desert stood like a living portrait of a common algor, with every brush stroke designed to match the accepted essence of algor attributes.
"He's right," Ryson alerted Holli. "It's not an algor."
"No, it's not," Neltus revealed, "This has all been a trap."
Holli turned an accusing glare at the crimson casting wizard.
"You are responsible for this!"
Neltus responded to her allegation with a hostile admission of a half-truth.
"I am not responsible! I've been setup, just like you. We've all been played for fools!"
Holli realized that Neltus was not talented enough of an actor to fake such raw anger. She could see in his eyes he believed his own words, but she needed more information before she could act.
"Who is responsible for this?"
Neltus decided it was time for him to begin the final stage of his own scheme.
"You want answers? Have Jure reveal what this pretender really is. And then you will know what you're up against."
Holli had her suspicions about the imposter, but she knew Neltus was right. She had to confirm her fears.
"Jure!" she commanded. "Unveil this creature. Show its true form!"
Jure had replenished enough of his energy to cast a spell of amber magic meant to shed light on the imposter and remove any hint of an illusion. He thrust a white ring of power toward the algor standing before him. The pale magic encircled the creature, and then the energy radiated with a crisp golden glow.
Initially, the spell had little effect. Other than blurring the algor's appearance for a brief moment, Jure's target did not alter in its form. It did, however, resist viciously against the spell, confirming the accusation that it had something to hide.
While the conflict raged, Holli swiftly considered each detail of the struggle. The algor imposter was able to challenge and, if at least momentarily, successfully counter the power of Jure's spell. Few magic caster's utilizing illusionary magic would have been capable of such a feat. Further, when they first stumbled upon the algor, Jure had not noticed any indication of a magical flow surrounding the creature. She immediately discounted magic as the source of the imposter's disguise.
There were dark creatures—shape shifters of different types—that were certainly capable of taking the form of an algor, but she believed she would have recognized them despite their appearance. She could sense nothing around the imposter to indicate the presence of a disguised intruder. Whatever it was, it was able to mask its identity on several levels.
She then recalled Neltus' request of the delver. He had told Ryson to smell for the scent of a demon. In that, she found her answer.
"Jure! Alter your spell. It is not simple illusion which allows for the imposter's disguise. The creature is a doppelganger. Force it to reveal its form!"
The spell would require more energy, but Jure was willing to proceed. A doppelganger was most dangerous when it took the identity of another. To force it back into its true form would minimize it as a threat.
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The elder wizard did not end his initial spell. He simply changed its base from the golden energy of light to the ebony magic of transformation. The modification in the spell actually increased its potency as it became more than a demand for change. It had become the very essence of alteration.
The bright golden magic turned dark yellow, almost brown, and then pure black. It enveloped the doppelganger and tore at its outer layers. As it did, the demon entity could no longer struggle against the spell's influence. It failed to maintain its disguise.
The veneer of the algor dissolved and the true form of a doppelganger was revealed. A demon of dark blue color stood before them. It held to a slender form, shaped very similar to that of a tall elf. Its head and back, however, were covered with thick spikes, like the quills of a porcupine.
Even as it stood revealed, the demon made no move to escape. It focused its apparent wrath not on the elf or the wizard, but at the rotund spell caster capable once more of casting in crimson energy.
"You have broken your agreement," the demon hissed.
"Not so," Neltus countered. "I did exactly what was asked of me. I brought them all into the desert. What's more, I got my magic back on my own. You didn't have anything to do with it."
"We created the threat necessary for you to make a successful plea," the demon argued. "Without us, you would still be empty."
"Nonsense. That wasn't part of the arrangement, and I know your plans. You took control of me, but when your spell faded, I followed it. I saw the whole scheme. The agreement was broken before it even started."
"Plan?!" Holli raged. "What is this treachery?!"
"Ask the demon."
"I will ask you! And I will ask you only once!"
Neltus smiled deviously at the elf.
"Do you really think you can tell me what to do? You are such a fool. This is the desert. I've been recharging with pure red magic since we arrived here. Do you think your weak emerald energy even has a chance against me?"
"I'm not alone."
"No, you're not, but Jure has just battled two separate demons. He can't stand up to me now. And I won't even give the delver a chance."
Neltus moved far quicker than anyone expected. Even Ryson was too stunned to react before it was too late. Events spun out of control. The plan for saving Enin vanished with the uncovering of the doppelganger. Ryson could react with reflexes faster than a shift in the wind, but he could not overcome the confusion of the moment.
And Neltus was correct about Jure. The elder wizard had released vast amounts of energy in his spells to bring the dathit back to the desert surface and to expose the doppelganger. Jure's ability to cast a defensive spell was limited by his lack of magical reserves.
The desert was Neltus' natural environment, his domain. The crimson energy flowed strong across the Lacobian. With his core restored, he absorbed the red magic like a massive sponge. He pulled at the power stored in each grain of sand, each rock and stone. The energy pulsing in his essence was far more than necessary to deal with his foes.
With one quick wave of a single hand, Neltus unleashed a ring of destructive red power. Energy from the surrounding lands surged through his ravenous core and exploded over his enemies. Cascading sand rushed up and over the surrounding dunes like a giant wave. Rage and determination fueled the assault, and it crashed down upon Ryson, Holli, and Jure, as well as the doppelganger, in a thunderous heave.
Ryson managed to leap to one side, but he could not escape the onslaught completely. The wave was too wide to avoid. As the sand struck him, he attempted to climb through it, press his way through the avalanche in a flurry of movement. He found a level of success, but only for a brief moment.
The sand continued to rush over him, wouldn't allow him to break free. It encircled him and drew him back down into the heavy mound collecting upon the surface. When it finally relented, the delver was stuck hip-deep in a heavily compacted pile of sand.
Sticking half out of the desert surface, Ryson looked about frantically for the others. He saw nothing but a wide and tall mound. Jure and Holli had been completely buried. Before he could free himself from the surrounding sand which pressed heavily against his legs, he heard Neltus laugh.
The crimson cored wizard caught the delver's gaze and decided to gloat.
"I've always wanted to do that to that stupid elf witch. She always thought she was so much better than me. I doubt she thinks that now."
Before Neltus could say more, he was interrupted by movement to the west. The sun had sank completely below the horizon, but there was still enough light during dusk to see the massive form of the dathit. The demon colossus evidently decided it was time to leave.
The gigantic pit demon continued to hold Enin in its massive hand. The wizard was conscious but did not fight against the demon's hold. He remained as still as possible to avoid arousing the ire of the creature. He had no desire to be crushed to death.
Neltus flicked his fingers towards the pit demon as if pleased to be rid of the monster. He knew Baannat had sent the dathit to capture Enin, understood the devious plan which was part of a grand scheme worked out between the slink ghoul and Reiculf. With the pit demon leaving and the doppelganger buried beneath the massive mound of sand, the crimson casting wizard only needed to concern himself with the delver.
Ryson watched helplessly as the dathit moved quickly away with a massive stride. Unwilling to remain trapped, the delver used his agility to squirm out from the compacted sand.
Before Ryson pulled both legs free, Neltus laughed once more as he watched the delver struggle relentlessly. After momentarily enjoying the spectacle, he called on the crimson magic. A bolt of red energy crashed into the sand, missing Ryson's head by the smallest of margins, but it was not meant to miss.
Ryson's speed had saved him, but only barely. He felt the concussion of the blast, and it contained the compacted force of a landslide. Neltus meant to kill him, and the rage the delver beheld in the wizard's eyes chilled his soul.
"Are you insane?" Ryson questioned, stunned by the callousness of the attack.
"Insane?" Neltus responded. "No, not in the least. I'm whole again. And you best understand what that means."
"It means you're a danger to everyone and everything."
"Perhaps, but not in the way you think. You're still worried about Reiculf taking over my magic, but I won't let that happen again. No one can control me, and no one will give me any orders. I will retain my magic."
"You've been stopped before."
"Maybe, but who's going to do it now? Enin? Enin's power is gone. And if Jure somehow finds a way to dig out of the sand, he lacks the stomach to ever beat me again. Do you know how I'm sure of that? Because I know an emptiness he can't conceive. I know what it's like to lose everything. He doesn't. He wouldn't have a chance against me, not now. "
Neltus sneered at Ryson, but he held his magic in check. He had no love for the delver, but he decided a clash between them would gain him nothing. He had already obtained absolutely everything he wanted. He had his core back, and he believed without the slightest doubt that he didn't owe anything to anyone in the process.
It was Baannat who wanted to trap Ryson and his friends. If any of them had a problem with that, they could take it up with the slink ghoul, and that was only a worry if Holli and Jure managed to pull themselves out of the sand in one piece.
As for the slink ghoul, Baannat had already broken their bargain when he included demons in the mix. The ghoul's scheme included elements far beyond Neltus' expectations. The way Neltus saw it, he had helped Baannat capture Enin and regained his core through his own guile, and not with any assistance from Baannat.
With no further cares, Neltus' attention turned to his own desires. He enjoyed the desert, but he would not remain so close to the algor sanctuary, or to Ryson Acumen. It was time for him to move on.
With a small flick of the wrist, crimson energy streamed off his fingertips. The sand swirled about and formed a
twist in the land, a connection to a place he knew well. Neltus stepped into the distortion and was teleported away.
Chapter 12
Ryson stood alone upon the unmoving sands of the Lacobian Desert. His companions were gone. He faced a number of calamities, all of which seemed to accelerate in severity with the advancing night.
As the darkness of evening spread across the desert sky, a host of stars became visible, especially to the east. The air was very still, but without the sun beating down, it quickly began to cool. The shifting temperature created an odd sensation as he could feel the residual heat rising up from the sand.
With a quick shift of his head, Ryson looked to one of the several dilemmas screaming for immediate attention. The giant form of the dathit was quickly fading behind the dunes to the west. Its enormous stride allowed it to cover broad portions of the desert with each step, and it showed no interest in the delver or anything else it left behind.
Enin remained in its grasp, but Ryson heard no shouts for aid from the powerless wizard. The delver deftly snatched the spyscope from his pouch and gazed through the curved lenses. Even in the narrow starlight, his delver eyes gained a tight perspective of his friend. The wizard did not struggle at all, his body remained motionless. The delver could only hope that Enin was still alive and not crushed into eternal sleep by a careless reflex of the callous goliath.
Even as he believed he should follow the dathit, other considerations held Ryson in place. Putting the spyscope away, his head swerved about as he focused on the signs of another departed adversary.
The delver witnessed the lingering distortions of Neltus' teleportation spell swirl into the shimmering heat of the Lacobian sands. The thought of the crimson cored wizard generated anger in Ryson's soul. He held Neltus responsible for the monumental troubles spawning in the desert, and the delver remained convinced Neltus was a threat to all of Uton. For all the anxiety and suffering the self-indulgent wizard caused, Ryson would have loved to beat the deceitful spell caster into submission, but Neltus had escaped with the wave of a hand and a burst of red magic.